F&I and Showroom, August 2019

www fi magazine com 10 F I and Showroom August 2019 DEVELOPMENTS PHOTO COURTESY FIAT CHRYSLER AUTOMOBILES SAAR HOLDS AT 17M AS SALES SLIP T he seasonally adjusted annualized rate of newvehicle sales ticked down slightly but remained above the 17 million unit mark in June according to reports and estimates compiled by Automotive News U S dealers sold 1294883 new cars and light trucks last month 26 fewer than in June 2018 and the sixth consecutive down month to start the year The SAAR now stands at 1729 million after registering at 174 million at the end of May As has been the case throughout the year fleet sales have helped the industry maintain a brisk pace Several analysts highlighted the performance of Ram which enjoyed a 56 yearover year increase moving more than 68000 units in 26 selling days NEW CAR PRICES UP 31 IN JUNE T he valuation analysts at Kelley Blue Book reported the estimated average transaction price for a light vehicle in the United States was 37285 in June 2019 New vehicle prices increased 1131 31 year over year while decreasing 67 02 from May Fiat Chrysler had another strong month posting nearly a 7 increase thanks to the Ram and Jeep brands The new Jeep Gladiator pickup transacted in the mid 50000 range as the sales mix skewed heavily toward the high end Rubicon trim and in addition the Gladiator beat the next closest mid size truck by nearly 18000 Ford Motor Co s average prices were up 4 in June with Ford rising 4 and Lincoln up 3 TOP SALES PERFORMERS ARE ACTIVE LISTENERS A Marchex report based on an analysis of 6200 sales conversations that occurred at U S auto dealerships in January found that top performing salespeople actively listened to callers 179 more often than bottom Top performers defined in the report as the top 25 of salespeople relied on active listening techniques such as repeating and clarifying information According to the study top performers then used that information to provide callers more relevant recommendations The study benchmarked the specific goals of the salespeople relative to the outcomes of their conversations which was to get inbound callers to schedule an appointment to look at a car or take a test drive AUTO GROUPS OUTPERFORM S P 500 T he Kerrigan Index registered at 56425 in June a 104 year over year increase and 312 year to date improvement Buy sell firm Kerrigan Advisors publishes the index which tracks the stock prices for the publicly traded AutoNation Asbury CarMax Group 1 Lithia Penske and Sonic dealership groups The improvement was driven largely by CarMax which posted its all time highest stock price as well as 52 week highs for Asbury and Group 1 Despite a decline in new lightvehicle sales the Kerrigan Index far outperformed the S P 500 Index which improved by 69 in June and 173 year to date Analysts noted that unlike other industries auto retail benefits from the push and pull of new and used vehicle sales SUBARU LEADS BRAND LOYALTY RANKINGS J D Power has released the results of its inaugural 2019 U S Automotive Brand Loyalty Study with Subaru and Lexus ranking highest in the mass market and luxury segments respectively Customer loyalty is based on the percentage of vehicle owners who choose the same brand when trading in or purchasing their next vehicle The 2019 study is based on transaction data from June 2018 through May 2019 and includes all model years traded in Subaru registered the No 1 overall score of 615 and was followed by Toyota 595 Honda 577 Ram 562 and Ford 54 in the mass market segment Lexus 476 scored highest among highline marques PRICE HIKE TESLA DROPS BASE MODELS E lectric carmaker Tesla Inc announced it is dropping the standard range variants of its Model X SUV and Model S sedan raising the starting price for both vehicles by 4990 while lowering the starting price of the high volume Model 3 by less than 1000 The discontinued base model X and S sold for 84000 and 75000 respectively and could go about 285 miles on a full charge The long range Model X and Model S get 370 and 345 miles per charge Also still available are performance editions that trade range for enhanced output and acceleration The entry level Model 3 sedans starting price was reduced from 39900 to 38990 F ormer automotive executive and engineer Lee Iacocca died last month at the age of 94 He is survived by two daughters and eight grandchildren Best known as the CEO of and sometime TV pitchman for Chrysler Corp in the 1980s Iacocca began his career in 1946 with Ford Motor Co where he rocketed up the executive ranks and invented the concept of the pony car with the 1964 Mustang One of the things I will remember most was his bold leadership style Iacocca said things like they were and was a true visionary and innovator said fellow former Chrysler executive Lisa Copeland He even told consumers If you can find a better car buy it He would make promises and delivered The things he taught us and his legacy will live forever in the auto industry IN MEMORIAM INDUSTRY LEADER LEE IACOCCA Former Ford and Chrysler executive Lido Anthony Lee Iacocca seen here in a 2005 post retirement commercial for Chrysler has died at the age of 94